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It’s no secret that for the last 40 years USM has been gifting the world with the incredible transformational and experiential education that has empowered thousands of courageous graduates to move forward in their lives and make a meaningful contribution. What you may not know is that USM’s Programs are filled almost entirely by word of mouth. Why is this so?
The answer is always—the quality of the educational environment plus the goldmine of transformational curriculum that Drs. Ron & Mary Hulnick have developed over 40 years.
The USM experience is unique—students have the opportunity through the trio work to experience the Principles and Practices of Spiritual Psychology in action—and to discover the power of the Spiritual Context. We don’t talk about them theoretically. The USM Classroom is where the rubber meets the road, where students actually apply the life-changing Principles and Practices to the situations, circumstances, and challenges of their everyday lives. They experience for themselves healing, transformation, and a life-enhancing change of perception.
Well, here’s some great news—the world renowned Loyalty to Your Soul Workshop, happening on September 9, 10 & 11 (with bonus class on 9/27), is the PERFECT way to experience for yourself the Principles and Practices of Spiritual Psychology and if you are a Grad, to re-energize your relationship with them!
And, as mentioned, USM is all about word of mouth so please allow these gorgeous testimonials to inspire you to join us for the first EVER Loyalty To Your Soul Workshop ONLINE, which is already filling with amazing students from all over the world—both newcomers and Grads alike!
- “Run, don’t walk to sign up and participate in this Workshop. Thank you for all of it.”
—Ali Moghadas - “The LTYS Workshop helped release physical, emotional, and spiritual blocks that were keeping me from my fabulous, loving, Authentic True Self. With the gentle, yet powerful, skills and breaking out into trios, things cleared for me in a way that regular talk therapy couldn’t. The collective experiential work will be ever present and I know I can always return on my journey of being the loving.”
—Lori Alan - “Do it! What a gift and opportunity to help you connect with your Authentic Self. We take care of our bodies, so concerned with diet, exercise, and appearance. We educate ourselves so we can advance in the work world. This is something you can do to take care of your emotional well-being. Tools that will help you view your life differently and move into a life of love and light.”
—Ruthellen Purdy Carozza - “It was 100% worth the time and money. I walked away feeling lighter like I had literally unloaded a heavy bag I carry on my back. It was inspiring, honest, and deep work that is hard to come by.”
—Seline Ringel - “USM offered a safe and sacred space for me to examine and go deep into myself. It helped me realize that when I feel safe, I have the capacity and desire to go inwards and not feel judged or defensive. I feel like today is the first day I will actually live an authentic life.”
—Jennifer Mascari
♥ As students and graduates experience the deep Healing of issues and ego patterns available through learning and utilizing the Principles and Practices of Spiritual Psychology both in the University of Santa Monica classroom and the classroom of their everyday lives, they experience Awakening into their Essential Nature, the consciousness we refer to as the Authentic Self—Joyful, Compassionate, Wise, Creative, and Unconditionally Loving. It is this consciousness in which they have direct access to the Wisdom, Inspiration, Knowing, and Guidance of the Soul. In short, you learn experientially what it means to live your life in harmony with Being Loyal to Your Soul.
As this transformational process occurs over time, you become increasingly aware of your gifts and the deep yearning to be of service—to use your God-given gifts and lives in ways that serve the greater Awakening taking place on the planet at this time. You experience yourself hearing and answering the call to make a meaningful difference, contributing to real solutions to the urgent needs and challenges that face humanity.
Our world has been destabilized by a global pandemic, economic and political uncertainty, war and violence, as well as fire, flood, thirst, and hunger reflecting the dire need for the evolution of consciousness and yet-to-be-birthed solutions to meet these needs. As such, many are experiencing the call to activism. The call in so many hearts at this time is “How can I make a difference?”
At USM, we recognize the answer is activism, not based in shame, blame, judgment, against-ness, right-making and wrong-making, separation or violence. Real solutions do not emerge from the self-righteousness of the ego. Rather, they emerge from Sacred Activism based on knowing that growth in consciousness IS the vehicle for activation of the active ingredient essential to making a positive difference. This active ingredient essential to Healing, transformation, and real change is Loving … and Loving’s eternal flow activating Hearts in Healing … Serving … and Sharing. USM’s Programs have been designed and curated with this intention in mind and Heart.
At the University, we acknowledge that consciousness is fundamental—and as Spiritual Psychology Principle 20 states:
Outer experience is a reflection of inner reality.
The next steps of human agency—exercising choice and intentionality in Co-Creating a “new earth”—include Healing through learning and continuing to do the work in consciousness necessary to cleanse the lens of perception. This work is done by recognizing that it’s an “inkblot world” and engaging in the difficult yet required work of accepting responsibility for the disturbance within your own consciousness that is projected onto others and the world.
This includes healing hurts, misunderstandings, and misidentifications that support the ego’s story of justified outrage, victimization, and separation. It means dismantling guilt, blame, and shame.
We heal through applying Loving to the places inside where these patterns reside and forgiving ourselves for our judgments and misunderstandings. As John Lennon said, “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.” We say: change your lens, change your life, change your world.
At USM change begins within! Sacred Activism is recognized and honored as a path with Heart … a path of the Spiritual Warrior.
We provide experiential education and tools for life that facilitate real and enduring transformation/change and equip graduates to make meaningful contributions in their world.
Join us for an uplifting evening learning more about the life-changing Principles and Practices of Spiritual Psychology and how they can support you in living your life in harmony with Being Loyal to Your Soul. Drs. Ron & Mary Hulnick will be joined by USM Grad Kirk Souder, a transformational executive coach who specializes in working with high-impact leaders to help them connect to the Sacred Activist inside and from there, create positive impact at scale in our world. The evening will include an enlivening conversation, a Self-reflective process, and Q&A with Ron, Mary, and Kirk during which you can bring forward those questions that matter to you most!
USM Worldwide Community Gathering with Drs. Ron & Mary Hulnick and Special Guest Kirk Souder
The Power of Spiritual Psychology and Sacred Activism
Open to All!
Tuesday, July 19, 20226–8 p.m. Pacific
Kirk Souder, USM 2006, is a renowned leadership and executive coach creating initiatives with visionary brands and coaching visionary leaders toward positive impact at scale.
Kirk combines vast business-building experience with deep education and training in leadership coaching. He has spoken and led workshops on unlocking inner purpose and positive impact from Hong Kong to Copenhagen to Miami to Portland.
Kirk is a living example of Soul-Centered Living and Authentic Leadership in action. He is a Creative and genuinely caring Consciousness embodying the empowering Principles and Practices of Spiritual Psychology, both personally and professionally, assisting others in transforming their consciousness and their worlds.
One of the wonderfully exciting things that our beloved Ron & Mary have done recently is make appearances on radio shows or at conferences hosted by Grads from our amazing community! Below you will find an invitation to watch them at Kute Blackson’s incredible The Surrender Summit as well as listen to their depthful conversations with Diane Hudock and Tammi Baliszewski!
THE SURRENDER SUMMIT WITH KUTE BLACKSON
“Surrender” is such a rich and leveraged topic, and Drs. Ron & Mary Hulnick are so happy to be a part of Kute Blackson’s The Surrender Summit which began Tuesday, July 12! The Hulnicks’ segment was launched on Saturday, July 16, at 2 p.m. Pacific.
As Kute puts it: “We’ve been taught that surrender is weak. Giving up. Waving the white flag. But this is a misconception. Surrender is the most powerful thing that you can do. Surrender is the invitation to take all limits off of life itself, so that magic can happen. More than you can imagine. More than you could ever plan. This is the magic.”
The Divine Opportunity:
Learning to See Everything Through the Eyes of Soul
Drs. Ron & Mary Hulnick recently had the great pleasure of speaking with USM Grad Diane Hudock on her Spiritual Geek Out Podcast.
In this heartfelt and deeply inspiring talk, they discuss the essence of Spiritual Psychology, of deep healing, and what it means to be a Soul having a human experience.
LOYALTY TO YOUR SOUL WITH DRS. RON & MARY HULNICK
This is the first of a two-interview series with USM Grad Tammi Baliszewski on her podcast Journey to Center. You are not just a human being; you are a Spiritual Being having a human experience. As you navigate your life more from this Awareness, and live Loyal to your Soul, you will experience more grace, ease, and joy. Tammi speaks with Drs. Ron & Mary Hulnick about what this means and how we can do it!
Living From a Spiritual Context with Drs. Ron and Mary Hulnick
In the second of two interviews, USM Grad Tammi Baliszewski asks Drs. Ron & Mary Hulnick how we can collectively and individually remain both peaceful and effective as things on planet Earth are intensifying personally and globally. It can be helpful to know there is a good reason for this. Ron & Mary talk about how we can perceive things from within a Spiritual context to assist us in gaining clarity and experiencing more empowerment, peace, and purpose.
Tammi’s podcast can be found at Empower Radio here.
Adam shares a beautifully moving story of using his USM skills with his family to acknowledge his father who was transitioning, bringing them all closer together, on what turned into a very special Father’s Day celebration.
James is currently auditing Life Mastery & Soul-Centered Living II. In addition to the class weekends, LM&SCL II meets one Tuesday evening per month. See what James has to share about his experience during one of the Tuesday evening trio processes.
A CURRENT STUDENT’S REFLECTIONS
The May Tuesday evening trio process, “The Inherent Power of the Spiritual Context—Surrendering, Requesting, and Receiving Spirit’s Guidance,” as so many of these processes are, was both subtle and incredibly profound.
I found myself in increasing resistance to moving forward on my Sacred Yes Project and wanted to use this process to get past it. Ron and Mary, however, recommended that we ask for Spirit’s guidance without an agenda, and so I let go of my desire to overcome my resistance and asked instead: “What opportunity are you giving me?”
The answer was not at all what I thought it might be. My resistance simply said: “Be with me.” And with that, I understood that I was in judgment of myself for feeling resistance. My resistance was something “wrong” that needed to be “healed” or “gotten past.”
It then said: “Are you ready to love yourself unconditionally?” And it transformed from a barrier to a threshold—a necessary boundary between my consciousness before and what lies after, provided that I surrender my judgments and conditional loving, not only of my world but also of myself—first and foremost of myself. It was easy to “love myself” when I was being productive, contributing to society, or moving forward and making progress. But what about when I was feeling stuck? Does circumstance determine my worthiness?
The resistance had no judgment of me. It was always waiting for me and would be until, when, and if I choose to love myself, and the world, unconditionally.
I would like to say that I am now, though I recognize that I still have healing to do. I am grateful for the awareness that this is available to me and always has been. And I am closer than I have ever been before.
Namaste,
James Cox
The USM Grad community consistently amazes us. Students at the University of Santa Monica are adults with diverse cultural and varied educational, professional, and personal backgrounds.
This educational process at USM results in graduates who are experiencing greater connection with the authenticity of who they are, their life purpose, and enhanced levels of success and fulfillment. This empowers them to make a more meaningful contribution in their world. Some of those contributions are in the form of books!
For this Newsletter, we’re delighted to feature three authors who graduated many years ago yet have in some way stayed deeply connected to USM. Read below for a highlight on how they have used their USM education and the Principles and Practices of Spiritual Psychology in their own lives and through their writing.
Agapi Stassinopoulos
SPEAKING WITH SPIRIT
52 PRAYERS TO GUIDE, INSPIRE, AND UPLIFT YOU
During the USM Master’s Program, I discovered my deeper connection with myself, my gifts, and found the confidence to share my expression and my creativity with the world. I stopped waiting for the world to give me permission to succeed, and I realized that my love, my heart, and who I am is more than enough.
I found my spark—what brought me joy and gave me more aliveness—and started to share it unconditionally with the world. I became proactive in creating a loving, caring, and sharing life. All sorts of doors were opening, and I experienced the daily miracles of connection.
I am and will forever be so deeply grateful to USM and to Ron and Mary for their devotion and commitment to the upliftment of humanity.
Michael Polek
HEALING THROUGH GRIEF
FINDING FREEDOM FROM DEPRESSION
The earliest seeds of my working with people in the grieving process were planted when I was in my second year at USM. I was in the midst of my first “real” breakup, and I was deep in depression. At USM, we are taught to use everything for our learning, upliftment, and growth. I knew there must be a way out… a Light at the end of the tunnel. My opportunity came with one thought: “Why am I crying over a relationship I say I don’t want?” I did the breaking up.
The experience was, for me, profound. With my USM training, acting as a Spiritual Scientist, I had many opportunities to observe my own process when dealing with loss. I came to a deeper understanding of the relationship between loss, grief, and depression. With that awareness, I developed ways to talk with people about loss and the grieving process, and I brought forward some keys to assist with breaking free from the downward spiral of depression.
When the time came to share what I had learned more broadly, I went back to USM and registered for Soul-Centered Living I to support me in bringing my life experience to the page in a way that was clear, concise, and engaging. I am ever grateful for my USM education. It has given me tools for co-creating a life of service with purpose.
Having worked at USM for over 10 years, I get to live what I have learned with like-hearted souls. While I have extensively used my USM training at all of my jobs since enrolling in USM, working with the USM staff allows me to nurture and hone my skills in joyful, loving service. I know all of my employers benefitted from me showing up authentically as my best Self, and I have benefitted most of all.
Eric Nelson
CULTIVATING OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS
Designing and Implementing Child-Centered Learning Environments
“Initially I took USM to help me end a business relationship that was not working for me and start a new enterprise attached to a non-profit early childhood center that my wife and I started some years earlier. In time that enterprise evolved into a teacher training program.”
Eric (USM ’95) is a longtime volunteer at USM, supporting both faculty and students as a Team Captain for the classroom (both live and online) for the past 24 years. Eric’s service consciousness is reflected in his book, Cultivating Outdoor Classrooms.
It was during his time at USM that Eric and his wife Elyssa (USM ’97 and longtime volunteer) that they started a non-profit, early childhood center. As Eric shared: “There is no aspect of my life in which USM has not played a significant part. I remain ever grateful for all that I have gained from my USM education and continued involvement.”
PRINCIPLE #17
Accepting personal responsibility for your Spiritual Curriculum is empowering and opens the door to Freedom
“Accepting personal responsibility for your Spiritual Curriculum is empowering and opens the door to Freedom,” is especially resonant for me now as I am journeying through a significant period of transformation in my life. I’m in the midst of a major move across the country to join my family and care for loved ones in their later stages of life.
At the same time, I’m also in the midst of a career shift: refocusing my work to coach and catalyze creative potential in teams and organizations. It’s exhilarating (a mix of excitement and fear!)… and there are moments when I think, “I didn’t sign up for all of this!”
When this happens, and I center back into my heart, Principle #17 reminds me that, “Yes! I have signed up to be present with, and responsible for, my Spiritual Curriculum! And I have the tools (including my creativity) for meeting my Curriculum with joy, proactive accountability, and a spirit of gratitude.”
For me, as I venture forth into new adventures and leave past “knowns” behind, this kind of personal responsibility is a cornerstone of living into my Purpose.
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